|
 The
Veritable Key of Solomon
being a translation of Wellcome MS 4669 and Wellcome
MS 4670 translated by Paul Harry Barron from the French version
of the Hebrew text translated originally by Professor Morrisoneau
By Stephen Skinner and David Rankine
Translation by Paul Harry Barron
Full colour, half-leather edition;
limited to 350 copies, 384 pages, HB
First published November 2008, Published by Golden Hoard Press
Hand bound in black half leather and maroon buckram, with
marbled endpapers and hand gold stamped
ISBN 978-0954763985, £99.00 (excluding P&P)
 The
Key of Solomon is the most famous and infamous of all the
Grimoires and books of magic ever produced. Yet amazingly
only one version of it has ever been published, which was
compiled from diverse sections drawn from seven different
manuscripts in 1889 by S.L. MacGregor Mathers, the occult
scholar who was one of the founders of the Hermetic Order
of the Golden Dawn. Stephen Skinner and David Rankine have
explored the labyrinthine trail of manuscripts of the Key
of Solomon around the world, and after studying dozens of
manuscripts, decided on the two which best represent this
grimoire tradition to provide the widest range of material
in their new work, The Veritable Key of Solomon. The book
reproduces the Keys from Wellcome MS 4669 and MS 4670, two
previously overlooked French manuscripts scribed for a French
aristocrat in 1796, and here translated into English for
the first time. They are not the earliest, but they are
the most detailed,containing three separate Keys which cover
a wealth of material not found in the Mathers’ edition.
These Keys are The Keys of Rabbi Solomon, The Key of Solomon
King of the Hebrews and The Universal Treatise of the Keys
of Solomon. One of these manuscripts was the one referred
to by Bulwer-Lytton in his classic nineteenth century magical
novel of initiation, Zanoni, and another one contains an
early version of the material later found in the Grimorium
Verum.
The fame of the Key of Solomon probably
stems from the fact that it was the closest thing available
to a manual for the aspiring or practising magician wishing
to evoke angels and demons during the Renaissance. Everything
from how to construct the magic circle, how to determine
the most auspicious times, what perfumes were most conducive
to burn, how to prepare your tools, what prayers and conjurations
should be used, how to make and use the pentacles which
acted as magical foci for the appropriate intent, indeed
all aspects of the process and practices were included.
The Veritable Key of Solomon shows the influence of the
Heptameron on these practices more clearly than the previous
Mathers text, through such elements as magic circles, perfumes,
seals and including all the planetary circles for the seasons.
It is illustrated in colour, with more than twice as many
talismanic pentacles as were produced in the nineteenth
century text, and also is more inclusive of earlier material
such as the Olympic Spirits, Planetary Intelligences and
Spirits. These Keys contain the most comprehensive collection
of practical planetary grimoire material ever seen in a
book and greatly expand the scope of information available
to students and practitioners.
 The
Veritable Key of Solomon also features a commentary on the
provenance of the different families of Key of Solomon manuscripts,
tracing their use through Renaissance Europe, and exploring
the effects they had on society around them as they were copied
and transmitted into ever wider circles. The Introduction
includes commentary on all the families of manuscripts including
the earlier Greek manuscripts, as well as a study of the other
books attributed to Solomon. The appendixes include a list
of the known Key of Solomon manuscripts and incorrectly attributed
manuscripts. The huge number of extant manuscripts (more than
120) clearly demonstrates that the Key of Solomon was the
most significant magical book for several hundred years from
the late sixteenth through to the nineteenth century, and
this work finally restores the Key of Solomon tradition back
to its place in the heart of the magical revival.
The Veritable Key of Solomon, half-leather collector's edition,
£99.00.To order a copy of this colour half-leather edition
now, please select your destination from the list below.
If your country is not listed
above, or if you plan on purchasing more than one title from
the Sourceworks of Ceremonial Magic series, please email liberavalonia@gmail.com
for a postage quotation.
Other Editions
Deluxe Edition
A Deluxe Full Leather edition of The
Veritable Key of Solomon was also produced (pictured below).
Limited to just 25 numbered and signed copies this edition
is now SOLD OUT.
A hardback with dustjacket, black and white
interior edition of this book was published with Llewellyn.
This ordinary edition, which is available from Amazon and
all good esoteric bookshops, features an alchemical dragon
on the dustjacket cover, pictured below:
|
